Still, for however many times we disagreed, DTS was a good thinker. Some of his ideas were creative and he had a grasp of the game. Who knows, maybe he'll start posting again one day? I'd like to hear his thoughts on the Benning regime as it is now.
Sure, why not. I have read every post year for the last 3 years. Only fair to contribute something.
Benning has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the teams amateur scouting work. He came in touted as a guy that could revamp the scouting department ; and he did so, from day 1. Saw something in Judd Brackett early on and promoted him to the top of the staff. Major props for doing that with the youngest guy on your staff. Very un-Dinosaur like.
2014- Canucks found 5 NHL players with their first 5 picks. That just doesn't happen. Anywhere. We did it with what was arguably the least successful collection of scouts in the NHL at that time. I was disappointed with the Virtanen pick, but also remember how Linden and ownership were gushing over him before Benning was even hired. That said, he has to wear every pick.
2015- Finds a kid outside the top 20 that looks poised to be on his way to a 500 goal NHL career. Hobey Baker winner in the 5th rd that could be a core piece moving forward. Didn't have a 2nd rd pick - but turned it into a productive 2nd line forward in Sven Baertschi. Brisebois showing year over year improvements and still in the mix as a potential NHL regular too.
2016- Awful draft. Hated passing on Tkachuk and this one is 100% on Benning. Said he saw the knights live 14 times that year, so he deserves all the flack he gets for this pick. IMO the biggest mistake of his tenure.
2017- Makes the 2016 draft look like a one-off. Benning once again shows the knack for finding an elite talent in the 1st rd. 2nd time in 4 drafts - without a pick inside 5. Franchise altering move. Still like the collection behind Pettersson as well. For me, Kole Lind is probably our most underrated prospect.
2018- Early signs look great yet again. Liked swinging for the fences with Hughes and Woo/Madden are both tracking like 1st rd picks. A+ draft thus far.
Benning was billed as the guy that would turn around the scouting department and he has exceeded expectations 5 years in. Our picks collectively have tracked much better post draft than before he came in and overhauled the staff. Great body of work with the group he inherited.
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Negotiating contacts- Don't know if there is a worse management team out there right now when it comes to negotiating contracts. I was completely dumbfounded with the Sbisa deal and couldn't wrap my head around how he got to those numbers with a #6 defenseman. It was a harbinger of things to come! Virtually every contract is coming in 10-25% higher than what looks like market value. Too much term as well.
Free Agents- Not a fan of the overall body of work. Some hits here and there but too many misses. Inflated contracts with too much term the trend again. Disappointing in this regard, no doubt.
Pro scouting- Needs to be overhauled. Not sure who is running the show here but a lot of the players brought in were targets from the pro scouts of the previous regime. Bonino, Sutter, Gudbranson and Pouliot were all chased before Benning came aboard. Changes need to be made. But again, the GM wears the mistakes of the pro scouts.
Trades- This is more hit and miss than many let on IMO. The trades almost always look better in hindsight than how they are judged at the time of execution. When you go back through the entire history of trades, very few have come back to bite us. Gudbranson deal for me was the worst. The body of work has been improving over time.
So all in all, where does that leave me in regards to Benning 5 years in? He doesn't look like the right candidate to take a decent team to contender status through shrewd signings and final touches. Where Gillis excelled, supplementing a great core, Benning probably would drop the ball.
With that said, he deserves a ton of credit for succeeding at his most important job, replacing the Sedins and re-building the organisation from the ground up. To replace the twins in 5 years, with no picks inside 5, IMO is a major feat and one he doesn't get enough credit for. It's exceptionally difficult to find elite level talent outside the top 2-3 of the draft. We are very very lucky he found what appears to be a star and superstar forward in a handful of years in Vancouver. It can take 20-25 years to find a talent like Pettersson.
Final answer- I would be hesitant to remove Benning from the organisation entirely. The threat of our scouting reverting back to how it was before he arrived is a risk we shouldn't take. Don't believe it was a coincidence that our scouting success turned around immediately after he entered the fold. He came as advertised in that regard.
But if it was up to me, I would remove him from his current role and have him work with Brackett on the amateur side. We have seen enough to know he's not savvy enough to take this team to an elite level IMO. We need a more shrewd negotiator at the helm - in all areas.
Lots of mistakes have been made along the way. But to be where we are 5 years later I don't believe is a major disappointment at all. The lack of short term team success was inevitable, there is a good young core in place and with a few tweaks there could be a lot of quality, exciting, up-tempo hockey in front of us for the next decade. Things are looking up in Vancouver.
